Students Cope With Crash Deaths

Words Of Sympathy, Disbelief Fill Prospect Hallways

Locker 3547, a larger-than-life get-well card to Megan McDermott, is laden with flowers and dozens of handwritten notes, one of which begins:

``It`s so hard to believe what happened this weekend. It could have happened to anyone.``

The note expressed the sentiment of many of the 1,500 students at Prospect High School who returned to classes Tuesday and mourned the deaths of two students while pondering the implications of the car accident that claimed their lives.

``The mood was very somber in the halls today,`` said Jack Ashenfelter, principal of the Mt. Prospect school. ``There was sadness and anger. People were angry and confused at the loss of these wonderful young women.``

In the car with McDermott, who is in critical but stable condition at Lutheran General Hosptial in Park Ridge, were Emily Serafin of Arlington Heights and Kate Conlon of Mt. Prospect, both of whom were 14 and died in the crash.

The grief caused by the deaths could be seen on the faces of many students who broke down and cried in the hallways and of those who pinned notes and left flowers at the girls` lockers. Some exchanged hugs of encouragement and support, while others carried pictures of their former classmates in their wallets or purses.

And an even larger group flocked to the makeshift grief center, which school officials set up in a multipurpose room on the first floor. At any hour during the day, it was packed with more than 100 students.

``I was pretty hysterical in there,`` said Kristin Gibney, 15, asophomore who spent two hours at the center. ``Instead of talking about the accident, we talked about the people and how we knew them.``

The rooms were staffed by the school`s 12 counselors and members of the village`s Human Services Division, a psychologist and social worker from a Wheeling high school, and five counselors from the Wheeling-based Omni Youth Services.

By the end of the day, the room was strewn with crumpled tissues and still contained a few confused students who were seeking answers to the deaths of their peers.

And while many at Prospect High tried to find answers to the tragedy, so were authorities.

So far, what is known is that 15-year-old Neil Lawlor, a Prospect High School football player, was at the wheel and four others were inside the car when it slammed into a tree on Weller Street.

Also riding in the car was Amy Mederich, 16, of Mt. Prospect, who is in good condition at Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights.

Lawlor, who was released from Northwest Community Hospital Tuesday, did not have a driver`s license or learner`s permit, police said. It is unknown why Mederich, who did have a license, was not driving the car, which belonged to her father.

Police were investigating the possibility that alcohol may have played a role in the accident and were awaiting the results of a blood-alcohol test on the driver. Investigators said that there was no evidence of alcohol found in the car and that no one has been charged in the accident.

Before releasing more details on the accident, police wanted to ensure they had ``the whole story, with every question answered and no holes,``

Officer William Roscop said Tuesday.

Not only police but students, parents and administrators were careful to discuss the accident with such sensitivity Tuesday, since, as one mother said, ``A lot of people don`t know what went on.``

And students talking in the hallways emphasized that no one should assume alcohol played a role, though they could not help talking about the issue of teenage drinking and driving-an issue, they said, that they must deal with regularly.

``Everybody realized it could have happened to them,`` said student Dina Wasmund. The 15-year-old sophomore knows many classmates who have ridden in a cars with drivers who had been drinking. ``I think everybody has been,`` she said.

The thought was echoed several times in conversations with counselors and the classes of teachers, some of whom deviated from their normal coursework just to discuss the topic.

``What I heard today is a disbelief it could happen to someone they know and the shock that they are dead,``` said Dr. Edward D. Brenner, a counselor at Prospect.

``People talked a lot about alcohol and designated drivers and that every party should have people who don`t drink. Unfortunately, drinking won`t stop.``

In response to the concern, school officials have scheduled a parent support group meeting for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the school`s cafeteria that will address teenage drinking, Ashenfelter said.

``At this point . . . our focus is on the support of the friends and loved ones,`` he said. ``It`s been a rough time for all.``